In the past few days, the atmosphere in the palace has been very dull and strange.

Although Chang Qing and I are on good terms, she is still a queen. There are many things that we cannot and do not need to talk about in detail. It is only possible to send people from the Imperial Palace to the palace frequently to deliver things and messages to her.

I can see some clues; but Pei Yuanhao has not been back since he came to Jingren Palace that day. He only heard that the lights in the imperial study room were lit every night until the early morning.

This gave me some free time. After greeting Chang Qing today, I went to Jixian Hall.

As soon as I walked up the steps, I happened to see two little eunuchs walking past holding pamphlets. As soon as they saw me, they immediately came over and saluted politely: "Master Yue."

"Hmm. Where is Bachelor Fu?"

"I have classes over there."

"Okay, thank you."

I nodded, turned around and walked towards that side.

March has passed, and the weather should have warmed up at this time in previous years. After the snow has melted, there is still a warm breath in the air. But this year is a bit strange. Although the snow has stopped, the cold is still there, and the sky is always pressed with a layer of warmth.

The thick haze seemed to cover the entire imperial city with a big gray palm, giving people a depressing feeling.

I was walking in the corridor of Jixian Hall. It was as quiet and elegant as ever. There was not even the sound of reading. I felt a little strange as I walked over. When I reached the gate and looked around, I saw Fu Badai sitting at the top with a cane.

, his face was gloomy and he didn’t look very good-looking. There were several students sitting below who were intimidated by him. Those who were usually more naughty didn’t dare to say anything, so they just sat and wrote.

Strange, what happened to him?

I frowned slightly, turned my head, and immediately saw that the familiar position was empty.

Qinghan, not here?

Fu Badai's eyesight is inconvenient. He only gives lectures in class on weekdays. He is required to be a teaching assistant for many other things, so he basically goes in and out with Fu Badai. Why is he not here today?

I was still wondering when I saw Fu Badai's gray eyebrows frown: "Who is outside?"

The students were all startled and raised their heads to look at me. When Nianshen saw it was me, he immediately grinned happily, but he was worried about the teacher and did not dare to speak. I walked in calmly: "

Mr. Fu Da."

"Oh, it's Mr. Yue."

"..."

I saw that his frown relaxed, but his gloomy expression did not change at all. He turned his head and looked at the empty seat: "Uh, he - didn't come today?"

Fu Badai's face also darkened: "I'm waiting for him too."

"..."

Seeing him like this, I felt even more depressed. The two of them faced each other and were speechless for a moment. On the other hand, Nian Shen, who was sitting in the front row, carefully raised his head to look at our faces, and suddenly saw what was happening behind me.

, said loudly: "Hey, senior brother is back!"

When I heard this, I quickly turned my head.

I saw a thin, almost unfamiliar figure slowly walking over on the corridor over there.

To say he is strange is not because he has changed a lot, but because he is dressed in a moon-white robe, accompanied by jade beads and a silk ribbon belt. In my memory, he is either working by the river in the countryside in short clothes, or in bookish clothes.

Changsha was reciting poems and composing poems in the Jixian Hall, but his attire was as unfamiliar as the navy blue brocade robe and white jade belt he wore in the hall that day.

Of course, this is not unattractive, on the contrary, he is very good-looking. He is not a jade-faced young man. His dark complexion and erect facial features were originally as rough as rocks. In the days after entering Beijing, they were slowly polished, as if he had passed through

Through the carvings of the world, the thick rock has turned into a tall statue, and such a attire gives him a slightly different style.

But it made me feel like I was seeing a complete stranger.

Anyone but Qinghan.

Just when I was watching him walking over, still in a daze, Fu Badai's face darkened: "Where is he?!"

While he was talking, Qinghan walked straight up to him without looking at me. He just bowed his hands and bowed expressionlessly: "Teacher."

"Where have you been?"

"..."

"Say!"

"Went out for a while."

"Where have you been?"

Fu Badai asked aggressively, but he remained expressionless. It seemed that his face was darker because of his gloomy expression. He blinked and said calmly: "I didn't go anywhere."

"You haven't gone anywhere and you haven't come back until now? What did I tell you before and you have forgotten it?!"

When he heard this, his face turned darker, as if he gritted his teeth and said nothing.

"You——"

He stopped talking, but Fu Badai seemed to be even more angry. He raised the ruler in his hand and hit him.

I suddenly felt anxious.

Originally, when I came here today, I wanted to tell Fu Badai that Liu Qinghan was already a high-ranking member of the imperial court. If he continued fighting like this, something would happen sooner or later. Who would have thought that when the two of them met and couldn't say a few words, he would actually do it again?

Let’s do it!

Seeing that the wide ruler was about to hit Qinghan's shoulder, I subconsciously said: "No!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the ruler stopped in the air.

Fu Badai and I were both shocked. We opened our eyes wide and looked at Qinghan's gloomy gaze and his hand holding the ruler. When we exerted force, we could see the veins on the back of the hand bulged and the knuckles were cracking.

Noise.

I suddenly became anxious: "Qinghan, what are you doing?!"

Although it was inappropriate for Fu Badai to hit him, he was still a master and apprentice, so it wasn’t a big mistake on his part. But Qing Han—how could he do this?!

Fu Badai's expression also changed: "What are you doing!"

Qinghan still squeezed the ruler hard, almost as if he was about to break it. His breathing was heavy and hot. I walked closer and wanted to hold his hand. As soon as I got closer, I smelled a strong smell of alcohol.

Pounce head on.

He, he drank?!

No wonder his face was so dark. It turned out that he was not dark, but that he had been drinking. If you look carefully, his eyes were a little red. He never looked at me, but when I reached out to hold his wrist, a broken light flashed in his eyes.

: "Stop fighting."

"..."

"I can't figure it out. It's useless if you fight again!"

"...You can't figure it out?" Fu Badai held the ruler without letting go, his gray beard kept trembling, and said, "I don't think you can't figure it out."

"..."

"You think too much and want too much!"

At this point, I felt his hand tremble obviously, and suddenly he waved away the ruler. Fu Badai staggered and almost fell due to his move. I hurriedly went over to support him and turned around.

Looking at Liu Qinghan, he said loudly: "What are you doing? Are you crazy?!"

He seemed very angry, breathing heavily, glanced at us, suddenly turned around and left without looking back.

I supported Fu Badai and saw that his face was pale with anger, while Nianshen and others in the room were all stunned. None of them dared to take a breath, and looked outside with wide eyes like frightened little rabbits.

After a long while, Nian Shen walked out cautiously, imitating my example and supporting Fu Badai. Several other sons of important ministers also came out and helped Fu Badai into the house.

I didn't go in, I just stood at the door, my chest heaving violently, and my heart beating as if it was about to burst.

I never thought that Qinghan would do something to others. Although his life was rough in the past, he was not a rough man. I had never seen him do something to anyone, except when he got married to me and confronted the people in the village.

Once, at other times, he always treated people calmly and happily, and even talked about doing things with others, and this person was also his mentor!

I didn't know what happened, or what was wrong. Looking at the panting Fu Badai, and Qing Han's back who was about to disappear at the end of the dark corridor, I just felt panicked and at a loss.

At this time, someone pulled my sleeve.

I lowered my head and saw Nianshen raising his head and looking at me with wide eyes. I hurriedly knelt down and said, "Your Highness, I didn't scare you just now, did I?"

"Well, no, Aunt Qing, actually -" He said he wasn't scared, but he was still a little frightened. His big eyes flickered, and he hesitated before saying, "These days, the teacher beats Senior Brother every day.

."

"What?"

"If my senior brother can't answer the question, the teacher will beat him."

I frowned.

Nianshen had said before that every time Fu Badai asked a question, Qinghan would be beaten if he couldn't answer it, and he would be beaten if he could answer it, but it seemed that he didn't hit him every day. From what he said, Fu Badai was basically looking for him these days. Trouble.

Moreover, just now Qinghan said that he "can't figure it out", what exactly did Fu Badai say to him?

Nian Shen pouted, and carefully came over and said: "Aunt Qing, please tell me to stop talking back to the master, okay? He was beaten so badly."

"..."

"Tell him."
To be continued...